Ambidextrous 284: Yes, I Hate Digital Comics

Like many of you, the thought of reading an entire comic on a computer
screen feels more than a little perverse to me. Being able to
physically hold a book in my hands is one of the coolest things about
reading---to me anyway, and that’s the biggest reason I’ve had some
difficulty properly embracing even the idea of digital comics. And
obviously, this is not meant to disparage or trivialize the work that
people have been doing with the format over the last several years.
There’s a real possibility that I’ll consider releasing a project or
two digitally in the very near future, but personally, I just don’t
enjoy reading comics that way. But it is clear that a lot of folks do,
and our personal feelings about this are rendered moot when you
consider the long-term implications of Diamond’s recent decision to increase sales benchmarks.

Besides making it clear once and for all that the comics industry is
hardly “recession-proof,” it’s also a major blow to those still
convinced that relying entirely on Diamond Distribution is a
sustainable business model. 2009 will be a critical year for the entire
business, because of the economy and the 800-pound elephant in the room
with the sentence, “How is the digital age going to affect comics?”
written on it. It now appears that we’ll be forced to answer this a
little sooner than expected and get used to the awful, inconvenient
truth…the future of comics heading into the next decade is digital.
This is whether some of us (including me) like it or not.

Diamond has been taking a beating on the message boards and such, but
that’s something of an easy response, and one that completely overlooks
our own culpability. There is no question this move will negatively
impact a number of independent publishers, but seriously, we as fans
and retailers have done a great job of that on our own. We have made it
increasingly difficult for anyone but the major companies to make
decent money producing comics, and the margins between have been
extending for years. And even if blaming Diamond for that feels right,
the truth can be found in the sales numbers of creator-owned projects
from some of the biggest names in comics like Bendis, Millar, Brubaker,
Ellis, etc. The fact is that while all of them have written enormously
successful creator-owned material, it can only garner a fraction of the
sales their work-for-hire material does. This is the true issue, the
true problem with comics that not even digital distribution can
instantly solve. As an industry, we have long cultivated an almost
violent allergy to anything “new,” and that’s the thing that continues
to hold us back.

A significant number of people reading serialized comics are perfectly
happy to keep reading the same books and characters they’ve always read
month after month and year after year. When the Previews
catalog becomes that much slimmer in a couple months, most people won’t
even notice. Again, talking amongst ourselves on message boards and
comic sites, this is clearly the most relevant thing happening in the
biz, but the true majority just doesn’t care and likely can’t be made
to. So instead of hammering our fists into a brick wall, trying to get
people to buy something they are loudly communicating to us that they
don’t want, we must instead think. Is it really still possible for a
smaller publisher to rely solely on the Diamond model and achieve
success? If not, how do we efficiently and successfully reach a
potential audience that actually does want comics featuring new
concepts? Most importantly, now that we’ve _____ it all up, are we
really determined about fixing it?

If you are a comic book company and are not seriously considering some
method of digital distribution, then in the next couple years, you’re
likely going out of business. The smaller the publishing house, the
more important this ultimately is. Because honestly, people are already
reading comics online, they’re just doing it illegally now, and the
people that should be gettin’ paid from them aren’t. Folks are not just
reading scanned comics online because they’re free that way, but
because this is a format they’re comfortable with. So let’s find a way
to plug into that and supply some much needed revenue to the companies
actually producing the work. Yes, creating a framework will be
difficult, but several entertainment mediums have been able to weather
the storm of a business model that relies more heavily on a digital
delivery system. Comics will be no different.

The most exciting thing about embracing this transition is the
possibility that overall production costs will go down, making trying
something new more attractive to consumers. Because this is one of the
most common justifications for holding onto the familiar over all else,
and with 3.99 becoming the new average price for virtually all comics,
this will only intensify. Price points are becoming more and more
critical, and if you think asking someone to sample a new book for four
dollars is tough, wait until you’re asking for eighteen dollars. OGNs
are a great format, but I don’t know how viable they are to companies
and creators without a built-in fan base, or launching a completely new
property.

In general, graphic novels have served as our “magic bullet” for some
time now, and while ultimately I think it’s still the most important
facet of the modern industry, how we actually get there will almost
certainly change. All that matters to a smaller publisher (or an
unknown creator) is being able to conquer the bookstore and Amazon
market with a perfect bound collection of their stories and
behind-the-scenes material. To those people not driven into a frenzy
every Wednesday afternoon, locating and going to an actual comic shop
is something that seems much more difficult than pressing the little
button marked “Add Item to Cart,” and waiting for it to be dropped on
your front step. However…the current model doesn’t work nearly as
smoothly without being able to serialize the material first. It could
be that the “Zuda/Freakangels approach” will be something we see more
of, with the ‘net being used to distribute and test the market for a
project, before repackaging it into a trade for an extended shelf life.

What I think will be the ultimate turning point is the inevitable
introduction of a device similar to the Amazon Kindle with touch screen
functionality. Or perhaps I’m simply projecting in the hope of
maintaining some kind of tactile connection to what I’m reading. We
could download comics, books, magazines, etc. and digest the material
in pretty much the same way we do now. Only we’d now have the direct
contact with the mass market we’re constantly craving, lower per unit
prices, and this could become a complement of the print business
instead of an instant replacement. Companies could collect their
stories at pretty much the same increments they are now, offering them
in fully digital and printed formats. An iTunes model for comics is the
future, and the sooner we realize that and get to building it, the
better off we’ll all be.

The comics industry is far from doomed, but it does have to make some
hard choices going forward. The state of the world economy is forcing
our hand somewhat, but anyone that was paying attention knew this was
coming sooner rather than later. If someone does not seriously figure
out a working model that will attack the comics retailer, the bookstore
chain, and the iPhone user all in one very concentrated swoop, no
amount of Hollywood presence or interest will sustain us. It’s time to
start realizing that Diamond is going to become one leg of an adaptive
and progressive supply chain, and not the only hope that publishers
have of getting their comics in front of people.

This recession or depression or whatever you want to call it isn’t
going to be reversed overnight, and are you willing to stake everything
on the hope that the sales threshold won’t increase again next year…or
the one after that? Time to wake up and take a few baby steps into the
future, people. In the meantime, pre-ordering has never been more
important, so if there’s a book you want, tell your retailer to get it
for you.

Sorry for the delay, I will become one of the whatever million jobless
people in the United States as of Monday, and I was finishing this
piece up when I found out. More on that next week most likely. Take
care.